The Center, founded in 1985, is an environmental organization dedicated to protecting the environment, enhancing human, animal and plant ecologies, promoting the efficient use of natural resources and expanding participation in the environmental movement.

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

President Obama Cash-For-Clunkers Program

Congressional Democrats reached agreement with President Obama in a meeting at the White House on a proposal that would entitle consumers to vouchers worth as much as $4,500 to pay for new, more fuel-efficient vehicles, in exchange for the trade of older models. The Cash-for-Clunkers program, which would be authorized for as long as one year, would provide for about one million new car or truck purchases.

President Obama's meeting with about three dozen Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, including Rep. Henry Waxman (D., Calif.,), and Rep. Edward Markey (D., Mass.), calls for curbing U.S. emissions by roughly 80% below 2005 levels by 2050 via a cap and trade program. There are 59 members on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

The Center supports President Obama's plan and we believe the allowances should be distributed free to utilties the same way they were allocated in the successful Acid Rain Program. (WJS, 5/6/09)